


Four Ways to Forgiveness

by Poetry



Category: Doctor Who, Torchwood
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drabble Sequence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-15
Updated: 2010-01-15
Packaged: 2017-10-06 07:24:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poetry/pseuds/Poetry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four drabbles about four people Jack loves, and how he came to forgive them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. For the Asking

Ianto is not the answer to all of Jack's unspoken hope and longing. He is not the answer to the questions that have burned within Jack for 150 years.

Ianto is not the answer. He is the question. The answer is this:

A boy from a backwater continent of an insignificant planet can become a member of an elite pan-dimensional enforcement agency. A lonely con man can become a beloved hero. A man lost in time can become a leader for a cause he believes in.

A man deep enough to hide a terrible secret can also hold a beautiful one.


	2. Nest

After a year of torture, the Doctor sleeps.

Curled up on the jumpseat in the console room, his arms are splayed out like wings. His hair is soft and downy as feathers. His skin is stretched taut over his bones, which seem delicate and hollow, like they could snap in a strong wind.

The Doctor's eyes snap open, his gaze fierce as a hawk's, but he still dreams, trembling and uttering little cries. Jack takes off his grimy coat and enfolds the Doctor in it. His eyes flutter shut, and he is still.

"It's over," says Jack. "You're safe now."


	3. To Err is Human

I have made two great mistakes in my life, Gray. Letting go of your hand on the beach was the first.

Mother blamed me for what happened. Everyone in the family treated me as if I were someone else's bratty kid that they were forced to take care of. When the Time Agency recruited me, they weren't proud, just glad to see me gone.

You and Mother couldn't forgive me for endangering your life, but two beautiful strangers forgave me for endangering millions of lives.

The first mistake cost me my family. The second mistake gave me a new one.


	4. To Forgive, Divine

I forgive you, Rose.

I forgive you for every blade, bullet, poison, and noose that has ended my life. I forgive you for a year of dying a dozen times a day at the hands of a homicidal maniac. I forgive you for the sensation of being dragged over hot splinters every time I come back from the darkness. I forgive you for having to watch everyone I love disappear with the centuries.

I forgive you, because every minute I'm alive is because you love me. I forgive you because every time I cross the threshold, I feel your smile.


End file.
